Number of kittens abandoned in London on the rise, animal welfare charity warns

 
New home: Battersea cattery team leader Sakura Anderson with kittens Paddington and Possum (Picture: Battersea Dogs and Cats Home)
Rachel Blundy16 July 2014

The number of kittens being given away by their owners or found dumped on the capital's streets is on the rise, an animal welfare charity has warned.

More than 100 stray or unwanted kittens have been taken in at Battersea Dogs and Cat's Home London cattery since the beginning of April - almost twice the amount that were abandoned during the same period last year.

The charity, which looks after about 250 cats across three UK centres, claims resources on its maternity ward are being "stretched to breaking point" as a result of the huge increase.

Cattery team leader Sakura Anderson said: “Our cattery has turned into a kitten orphanage over the last three months because there are so many abandoned mums and babies arriving at our doors.

"From April to September we’re normally very busy with litters because the warmer weather brings out cats’ instincts to mate. However, due to London’s high population of unneutered cats, we’ve now been stretched to breaking point and our maternity ward is overflowing."

She continued: "We’re making sure the new mums have all the privacy and space they need, but they’re now taking over pens reserved for strays and older cats."

The RSPCA said it had seen a 14 per cent increase in the number of cat abandonments across the capital from April-June this year compared to the same period last year.

Last year more than 37,000 animals were dumped by their owners across England and Wales - an increase of 34 per cent on the previous year, the charity added.

Financial reason were cited as one of the reasons people were getting rid of their pets.

A kitten shower to re-home some of Battersea's stray cats is being held at the charity's London centre in Battersea Park Road on July 24 from 10.30am until 2pm.

For more information visit www.battersea.org.uk.

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